Recently did a conversion of some old 35mm color slides into digital files. Came across numerous pictures of automobiles once owned. Below is a view of an early 1930 Ford Tudor acquired back in 1969 from a man in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. At the time, he worked for the city cemetery department and bought the Model A out of an old municipal storage garage. As the saga went, the car was bought by the city in a lot of a dozen or so designated Model A Ford tudor sedan "police" cars. The cemetery department got one from that fleet in year 1930. As explained then, those vehicles were set up with some type of special gearing. To this day, that was the fastest Model A Ford that I've ever owned.
When he and his son acquired the tudor around year 1960, it had been sitting indoors for a long time. They installed reproduction Ford checker type upholstery and repainted the car in original paint scheme. Paid $600 cash and drove the blue and black A Model Ford home down the old Route 2 back to Boston in the spring of 1969.
In those days, I ran that sweet old Ford all over New England. The car was very quick and we'd cruise along the old U.S. Route 1 up to Maine on various excursions. That A Model tudor was excellent for tent camping trips into the back woods down ancient logging roads. On the open highway, the car would happily cruise along just under 60 without a hiccup. Other Model As, could not keep up with that one. Got to a point where I would shun traveling groups of antique cars because the trips were tediously slow. Usually shot ahead and met them later. Had the Fitchburg cop car for about three years and sold it to a guy from southern New Jersey for $1,200.
Someplace there is a hand colored photograph given to me by the seller upon purchase over 40 years ago. It shows the blue 1930 Model A Ford when new parked on a hill at the cemetery in Fitchburg, Mass. Will find that photo and post when opportunity permits.
Photo below is of the 1930 Ford as described. Picture was made on the cobble stone street behind the Boston Elevated Railway EL train carhouse and lower level streetcar barn at Charlestown Neck, Boston in 1970. All is long extinct.
